Monday, July 30, 2007

Films, flannel and final phrase.

1. Kino, the cinema and cafe in Hawkhurst because the seats have enough leg room and no-one talks during the film.

2. I ask to borrow a flannel, and The Mother says not to tell anyone that she can only offer me a choice of eleven. I pick the one with a spotty dog on it.

3. My father comes in to say goodnight just as I am reading the last words of the new Harry Potter.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

A story, boudoir bras and bats.

1. On a street corner Katie spots a Champagne bottle, three full plastic cups and three red roses. Our thoughts were: 'God bless Tunbridge Wells for its civilised drinking debris'; and 'There has got to be a story there.'

2. Going underwear shopping and discovering the concept of the boudoir bra. This is a piece of underwear deliberately not intended to brace, scaffold and restrain. Katie and I like Aphrodisia.

3. I meet Nick's parents for the first time and they show us the squirrels scuttering along the top of the board fence down the side of the house; and tell us about the bats that fell out of their roof and had to be rescued by the Bat Conservation Trust.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Take that, cucumber carving and walking home.

1. Oli has written a song celebrating Charlotte's policemen boyfriend -- it would be the theme tune to the TV series about him; and he's doing another one for me called He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named don't like my shoes (but I don't care) (except that it's got HWSNBN's real name in there, but I'm not allowed to mention it. He says he didn't say he didn't like my shoes, but that's just because he's cross that Oli is writing a song.

2. A crab carved out of a cucumber with antennae made of chilli pepper tips.

3. An umbrella to shelter under, an arm to hold and a light shower of rain.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Trousers, first aid and soft spot.

1. Putting on a pair of jeans in a shop and knowing straightaway that I want to buy them. They are slim fit boot cut in faded denim with some fancy tailoring so that the bright yellow linings of the pockets show a little. They have a decorative striped zip on the waistband, which could be used for smuggling contrabrand shoelaces, and there is crimson stitching on the back pockets.

2. Flatmates who gently and kindly extract splinters from my finger.

3. Katie wants some peace to finish Harry Potter, so I can get away with having a comfortable nap among the cushions on the sofa.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Choices, watermelon, gardening.

1. At the sandwich shop, they ask me to choose my piece of bread pudding from the dish.

2. The watermelon of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. He sliced it up and brought it round to our desks in green bowls. It looked beautiful and it was as cold and sweet and crisp as a watermelon should be.

3. Almost smothered by the bean vine and the tomato plant, our squash has flowered.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Chorus, saving and camping.

1. At lunchtime I practise putting up my new tent. I am treated to a chorus of bawdy remarks about Clare creating an erection in the field.

2. He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named hiding behind the woodpile with his camera, trying to capture instants of my life that will never come again.

3. The chemically smell of a brand new tent, excitement at the cunning features and the coolness of the tent pegs as they come out of the earth.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Worker bee, efficiency and luxury.

1. A confident but not cocky temp who picks things up quickly and then gets on with the task. Thanks Jo.

2. He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named brings us freshly ground coffee in a Nutella jar.

3. An evening with spent eating dinner and lying on the sofas with friends, gossipping and throwing cushions at each other.

Shelter, arisen and pub.

1. We are sheltered under the garden centre's great barn roof. There is a rush of sound and air as the rain comes down. 2. A mushroom, c...